- I read La Leche League’s The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding during pregnancy.
- I took a breastfeeding class.
- I requested an IBCLC in the hospital.
- I planned for skin-on-skin contact immediately after birth.
- I gave baby a chance first.
- I followed a specific approach to my latch.
- I held baby across my body with the opposite arm of the breast I was feeding him on, arm along his back and hand supporting his neck. This was to leave his head unhindered. It’s often hard to latch a baby while their head is in the crook of your arm.
- This allowed for the ability of baby’s head to tilt back (as opposed to his jaw pulling down) and get a wider, deeper latch.
- I would then make a “booby sandwich” and squeeze my breast slightly parallel to his mouth, like he was about to eat a sandwich. 😉
- With this booby sandwich, I would brush the nipple on baby’s tip lip or nose to encourage him to open wide and reach his head upwards.
- After latching, I’d ensure baby had fish lips – both top and bottom lips are facing out. If not, I would gently pull his bottom lip out.
- While nursing, I’d make sure baby’s chin was buried but his nose was open. After let-down, I’d start to hear the “keh” sound of him swallowing. Success!
- I latched, re-latched, and then re-latched again.
- I didn’t follow a schedule.
- I bed-shared.
How does Marabou support women?
We live in culture where “bouncing back” is more valued than proper rest. As admirable as it may be for a sports star to get back on the field, the same rules don’t apply to postpartum recovery. The traditional resting period has been stolen from women through pressure to get back to their job or simply through lack of presence.
Grandmas, sisters and best friends who otherwise would have been there to help a woman transition into motherhood often live too far away to be of any help. Household chores and caring for older children inevitably fall on the mom. But she just delivered a new life! She needs rest.
Marabou Services is a unique gift registry which provides services instead of stuff. Most mom’s get too many onesies, too many baby blankets and not enough helping hands. Break out of a destructive cultural norm and start a Marabou registry today.
With a Marabou registry you can sing up for any service which will benefit you or someone you know during the postpartum recovery period.
Postpartum doulas for a first time mom
House cleanings for moms of multiples
Childcare for moms with older children!
Once your registry is created, add it to any other registry or post it to your Facebook and ask friends and family contribute to your postpartum service, rather than buying you more stuff.
More and more moms find they have to figure out postpartum alone. Is it any wonder why PMDs are on the rise? Or women are embittered by the journey of motherhood? We can change that by giving the gift of peace.
